by Rachel Ogbu
22-year-old Valentine Cannings has been jailed for seven years after evidence that he attacked 17-year-old Kevin Linongi with a knife outside Bournville College’s campus in Longbridge Lane, Birmingham was undisputed.
The crime which happened in October 2012 shocked people even more when recently a CCTV footage showed the live moment Cannings plunged the knife into his classmate’s stomach and left him bleeding to death because he claimed Linongi had given him a suspicious glance.
On Friday, Cannings was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to purposely injuring and possession of an offensive weapon. Luckily, his victim was rushed to the emergency but he has been living in fear, terrified to leave his house since the incident.
According to reports; the video show Cannings wearing black clothing and a baseball cap, viciously stabbing Linongi, who collapses in the street and Cannings, is seen running away from the scene.
Soon afterwards, college security staff are seen rushing to help the IT student as Cannings screams at another student with his knife, who tried to stop him.
Speaking in his defence, Elroy Claxton said: ‘He felt threatened by the number of people around him. He thought one of them had a knife, which might have been a comb.’
But police had found a large Gurkha-style hunting knife in a protective sheath when they had searched his house the day o the crime and Detective Constable Paul from West Midlands Police Force CID, said: “This was an unprovoked attack on a young lad who miraculously survived his very serious injury. I hope that today’s sentence acts as some comfort to the victim, his family and friends as well as sending a very strong message to others that knife crime is not tolerated in the West Midlands.”
As Cannings received his sentencing, Recorder Nicholas Dean QC said the teenager was scared for life both mentally and physically. “You had in your possession a weapon. You used it just once, but the consequences were almost devastating to Mr Linongi, who received a deep stab wound to the abdomen. He suffered severe loss of blood and damage to internal body structure. He was in intensive care for two days and in hospital for two weeks. There have been serious medical consequences for him, from which he is only just recovering,” he said.
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